Highway Access Alternatives

Transcription

1 Highway Access Alternatives Tim Jowett, Deputy Registrar Approving Officers Workshop May 16, Land Land Title Title and and Survey Survey Authority Authority of of British British Columbia Columbia Requirement to provide access Section 75(1) of the Land Title Act speaks to the requirement for subdivision plans to provide access: 75 (1) A subdivision must comply with the following, and all other, requirements in this Part: (a) to the extent of the owner's control, there must be a sufficient highway to provide necessary and reasonable access (i) to all new parcels, and (ii) through the land subdivided to land lying beyond or around the subdivided land; 2 1

2 Relief from Section 75(1)(a) Section 76(1) of the Land Title Act states that an approving officer may grant relief from the s. 75 access requirements in prescribed circumstances. The Land Title Practice Manual speaks to the regulation that provides relief from the requirements of s. 75(1)(a): Relief from Section 75(1)(a) [ 7.135] The approving officer may grant relief from the requirements of s. 75(1)(a) of the Act either in whole or in part under s. 76(1) of the Act and the Highway Access Alternatives contained in ss. 8 to 12 and 15 of the Land Title Act Regulation, B.C. Reg. 334/79. 3 Highway Access Alternatives Regulation The Highway Access Alternatives Regulation provides access alternatives by: easement or private road or way air or water shared interest in a common lot tram line, cable car or gondola lift forest service road 4 2

3 Examples of drop down selections for alternative access approvals on the plan application Approval Approving Officer LTA Section 88 Access by Water Approval Approving Officer LTA Section 88 Access by Air Approval Approving Officer LTA Section 88 Access by Easement Only Approval Approving Officer LTA Section 88 Access by Common Lot Only 5 Access by Water plan example 6 3

4 Access by Water plan endorsement 7 Access via shared interest in a Common Lot plan example 8 4

5 9 Access by Forest Service Road plan example 10 5

6 Access by Forest Service Road plan endorsement 11 Approving Officer Approval In general terms, the Land Title Office does not look behind the approval of a subdivision plan that is approved by the approving officer under the Highway Access Alternatives Regulation 12 6

7 Reference to single parcel in the Regulation Section 9 of the Regulation states: An approving officer may grant relief from compliance with section 75 (1) (a) (i) of the Act if a subdivision creates a single parcel that does not abut a highway and the subdivider (a) proposes to grant, appurtenant to the new parcel, an easement of access to a highway or, where there is no established system of highways, a private road or way, and (b) submits to the approving officer a subdivision plan that shows the new parcel and outlines in a manner that complies with the rules made by the Association of British Columbia Land Surveyors or, in the case of an electronic plan, that complies with section of the Land Title Act (i) the easement area, or (ii) the private road or way, 13 Single Parcel A subdivision plan that creates more than one lot, and access is granted by easement to all the new lots and where applicable the remainder lot, is accepted by the Land Title Office if approved by the approving officer This is notwithstanding the reference to a single parcel in s. 9 of the regulation 14 7

8 Access Easements In the access by easement circumstance, a registrable easement document must accompany the application for the subdivision plan, and the easement area must be sufficiently defined 15 Private Road or Way Subdivision plans that grant access via a private road or way are examined on a case by case basis to determine what registrable interest will represent the private road or way 16 8

9 Title Endorsements All titles that result from subdivision plans submitted pursuant to the alternative access regulation are endorsed below the legal description as follows: See plan as to limited access Titles created from the common lot provision under the regulation reference the undivided share in the common lot as follows: Lot 1 and an undivided 1/50 th share in Lot 51 District Lot 500 Cassiar District Plan A single title is created for the new parcel and the undivided share in the common lot. Section 11 of the regulation provides that together the parcel and undivided share in the common lot constitute a single parcel. The land surveyor must include a table on the plan that allocates each new parcel s undivided share in the common lot 17 Plan Endorsements Subdivision plans approved pursuant to the highway access alternative regulation are endorsed as follows: Access to lot by easement only Access by water only Access by air only Access by common lot Road established under the Forest Act 18 9

10 S. 219 Covenant and Statutory Right of Way Approving Officers may wish to consult with their legal counsel regarding the registration of a s. 219 Covenant or Statutory Right of Way to accompany the plan Any application for a s. 219 Covenant or Statutory Right of Way must meet the requirements of the Land Title Act 19 Access by Public Road Section 80 of the Land Act allows for the Surveyor General to establish a public road through crown land to provide access to privately owned subdivided land The plan is endorsed as follows: This plan includes road through crown land The surveyor General signs the following certificate on the electronic plan application: Certificate under the Land Act Section 80 The public road through crown land shown on plan EPP is authorized under the Land Act. S

11 Access by Public Road example 21 Access by Public Road example 22 11

12 Access by Public Road plan endorsement 23 Land Title Practice Manual Volume 1 of the Land Title Practice Manual contains extensive editorial notes and case law related to highway access alternatives. The editorial notes and case law are noted under sections 75 and

13 Questions Thank you Tim Jowett, Deputy Registrar